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A Comics Studies Reader offers the best of the new comics scholarship in nearly thirty essays on a wide variety of such comics forms as gag cartoons, editorial cartoons, comic strips, comic books, manga, and graphic novels.
The anthology covers the pioneering work of Rodolphe Töpffer, the Disney comics of Carl Barks, and the graphic novels of Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware, as well as Peanuts, romance comics, and superheroes. It explores the stylistic achievements of manga, the international anti-comics campaign, and power and class in Mexican comic books and English illustrated stories.
A Comics Studies Reader introduces readers to the major debates and points of reference that continue to shape the field. It will interest anyone who wants to delve deeper into the world of comics and is ideal for classroom use.
Acknowledgments IX
Introduction XI
Why Are Comics Still in Search of Cultural Legitimization? Thierry Groensteen 3
Historical Considerations 13
Rodolphe Topffer's Aesthetic Revolution David Kunzle 17
How Comics Came to Be: Through the Juncture of Word and Image from Magazine Gag Cartoons to Newspaper Strips, Tools for Critical Appreciation plus Rare Seldom Witnessed Historical Facts Robert C. Harvey 25
The "Vulgar" Comic Strip Gilbert Seldes 46
Excerpt from Seduction of the Innocent Fredric Wertham 53
William Gaines and the Battle over EC Comics Amy Kiste Nyberg 58
The Comics Debates Internationally John A. Lent 69
The Definition of the Superhero Peter Coogan 77
Two Boys from the Twin Cities M. Thomas Inge 94
Craft, Art, Form 101
Caricature David Carrier 105
Beyond Comparison W. J. T. Mitchell 116
The Impossible Definition Thierry Groensteen 124
An Art of Tensions Charles Hatfield 132
The Arrow and the Grid Joseph Witek 149
The Construction of Space in Comics Pascal Lefevre 157
The Acoustics of Manga Robert S. Petersen 163
Culture, Narrative, Identity 173
Ally Sloper: The First Comics Superstar? Roger Sabin 177
Jackie and the Problem of Romance Martin Barker 190
Home Loving and Without Vices Anne Rubenstein 207
Autobiography as Authenticity Bart Beaty 226
Manga versus Kibyoshi Adam L. Kern 236
Beyond Shoujo, Blending Gender Fusami Ogi 244
Scrutiny and Evaluation 253
The Innocents March into History Ariel Dorfman 257
The Garden in the Machine Thomas Andrae 270
An Examination of "Master Race" John Benson David Kasakove Art Spiegelman 288
The Comics of Chris Ware Gene Kannenberg, Jr. 306
Transcending Comics: Crossingthe Boundaries of the Medium Annalisa Di Liddo 325
History and Graphic Representation in Maus Hillary Chute 340
Contributors 363
Index 369
Anonymous
Posted November 30, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
A Comics Studies Reader offers the best of the new comics scholarship in nearly thirty essays on a wide variety of such comics forms as gag cartoons, editorial cartoons, comic strips, comic books, manga, and graphic novels.
The anthology covers the pioneering work of Rodolphe Töpffer, the Disney comics of Carl Barks, and the graphic novels of Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware, as well as Peanuts, romance comics, and superheroes. It explores the stylistic achievements of manga, the ...